Heroku-simple deploys, on infrastructure you own.
Heroku made deployment feel easy: push your code, and it's live. No servers to babysit. Then the free tier went away, the per-dyno bill crept up, and a lot of small teams started wondering if they could get that same feeling somewhere they own.
That's why we built Miren. Push your code and it deploys — no Dockerfile, no YAML — but it runs on infrastructure you control. No per-dyno markup, no lock-in, and team access control comes built in through Miren Cloud.
| Heroku | Miren | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Heroku's managed dynos, running on AWS — you never touch the servers | Your own infrastructure — a VPS, a cloud box, or bare metal |
| Pricing | Per-dyno, plus paid add-ons. The bill climbs as you grow. | You pay for your own infrastructure. No per-dyno markup. |
| Deploys | git push with buildpacks | Push your code — no Dockerfile required |
| Autoscaling | Manual dyno counts; autoscaling only on the higher-priced tiers | On by default, based on real traffic |
| Lock-in | Proprietary platform; leaving means rebuilding your pipeline | Runs on infrastructure you own — leave whenever you want |
| Team access | Collaboration features locked to paid tiers | Auth and access control included, through Miren Cloud |
| Free tier | Gone since November 2022 | Free to self-host — run it on hardware you've already got |
Heroku invented the modern developer experience for deployment, and it's still excellent at what it does. Zero-config deployments mean you can focus entirely on your code. The add-on marketplace makes it trivial to add databases, monitoring, and other services. For prototypes, MVPs, and early-stage products, Heroku lets you move remarkably fast.
Heroku's convenience comes at a price — literally. Costs can escalate quickly as your application grows, and the pricing model can be surprising. Customization is limited when you need to go beyond standard patterns, and the platform creates real lock-in that can make migration challenging later. It's a trade-off worth understanding upfront.
Miren delivers Heroku-quality developer experience on infrastructure you control. Deploy straight from your code — no Dockerfile needed — with the same simplicity but without the scaling costs or lock-in. Miren Cloud gives you the team collaboration features Heroku charges premium prices for: unified authentication, fine-grained access control, and easy cluster discovery across your organization.
Get started in minutes and see how deployment should feel.